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The Not-So-Happy Wanderer

So. Yellowknife. So. Vancouver. I realize that the housing situation is tight up here, but is there really any excuse for what just happened to me?

I moved up here at the beginning of July and, thanks to a commenter on one of my blogs who lives in Yellowknife but was wanting to go South for the summer without paying $1300 a month in rent for a place she was not using, walked right into a sweet sublet three or four blocks from work and with lovely and copious light. The plan was, she’d stay down South till September at least, which was awesome for me, as by then it would be clear both to me and to The Boss whether or not this “employment” experiment (as opposed to the last decade and a bit of self-employment) had been a success.

Didn’t work out that way: the Southerly situation was untenable, I’d left my apartment in NO CONDITION for a swap (trust me, I’m sure the ravens on the patio were gossiping about the state of the living room), and she was coming back. So there I was, facing August with no place to stay and a VERY tight rental market, when I got an email from my Co-op back in Vancouver, where I had left all my stuff because moving it into storage wouldn’t have saved me anything at all, once you factor in the move itself.

They doubled my rent.

Imagine my joy.

Yep, I’m employed now (albeit in a temporary, probationary position which could terminate at any moment) and so the benevolent hippies decided that it was appropriate to increase my housing charges to the point where my monthly housing fees in Vancouver and Yellowknife actually exceed my net income. They may exceed my gross income, too, but I’m too nauseated even to contemplate the grosses, and who among you can blame me? Eh? I ask yez.

That situation lasted about a week when I found a friend-of-a-friend who had an extra bedroom in her house for $600 per month, which was awesome (though I half expected Vancouver to raise my rent AGAIN when they found out I was saving money!) and it even came with a washer and dryer. The house was toured, issues were discussed, and we left, to my recollection, with an agreement that unless something went really sideways and one of us contacted the other to say so, all was good for my moving in on the first of August.

Cut to the first of August. Today.

Picture a smiling icecoaster coming up the sidewalk, friend with carload of my things idling at the curb. Picture said friend-of-a-friend coming out to meet me with what can only be described as a shit-eating grin on her face (note: does not mean what you think it means. means this instead).

Oh, guess what. Sorry I didn’t get back to you. I’ve been offline. Camping, actually. So you couldn’t have gotten in touch with me but, anyway, when I didn’t hear from you I just, you know, sort of figured I’d just go ahead and change my mind. Sorryyyyyy. So, yeah.

So.

It’s a good thing I’ve been scouting out charities to volunteer for, because at least I am well-informed about homeless shelter options in Yellowknife.

Well, thank god I have seriously activist political representatives in my riding. I told the co-op point blank that their decision meant that my best course of action was to quit my job and return to BC and go on welfare.

Also, fortunately I volunteered for a long time at Pivot Legal Society, they are headquartered blocks from there, and they are all over this kind of case. So I’m not without resources.

But damn, what kind of co-op pulls shit like that? And what kind of individual pulls shit like that?

Did you see my tarot card reading on the other site? I do look at it just as entertainment but dayum, it’s kinda scaring me right now.

Unbelievable. Well, I believe it, it’s just that it’s all so very sucky. I do find myself thinking that the kind of person who would flake out on you like she did is not the sort of person one would want to live with. (It seems unlikely that that level of flakiness and lack of consideration would be an isolated incident.) Gah.

I hope that things turn around quickly and that you find a suitable and affordable new lair soon.

All co-ops do that “from each according to his/her ability” thing across the board. This is the biggest reason I don’t live in them. In reality, they punish the employed by making them carry the those who have low incomes, so they can hardly wait until someone becomes employed. They have the form letters already printed up. And don’t even think about subletting to someone who earns more than you do–once that gets out, they will a.) charge you/them the market rates, b.) get rid of you and give the place to them. I have seen both of these things happen. Are they legal? Probably not, but just trying living in a co-op *after* you’ve f**ked off the clique that holds the power.